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I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. | 



Qtie^t of tl^e I^e^l^ofi) 




CAMPBELL S. 



F. H. AYRES. 



COPYRIGHT, 1880, BY F. H. AYRES. 



THE 



PEg'f veFv'f HEMiEgpe^ ; 



A BOOK OF 



Few Theories, Many Facts, 



./ 



BY 



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J^ 



F. H. AYRES. o 
w 



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j^o.SM.o,<£' 




HARTFORD, CONN.: 

MERCANTILE PRINTING HOUSE, NO. 245 MAIN STREET, 

1880. 






PREFACE. 



This little, work makes no claim to special literary 
merit, nor to interest, save that which must attach to 
the mere recital of facts hitherto unknown to American 
fanciers. We have aimed throughout to give facts and 
let them stand without much help from preconceived 
theories. As we would write to a friend the account of 
what we learned, we have written for the inspection of 
the poultry fraternity. 



The Quest of the Leghorn. 



¥iov/ THE Quest Came About. 

The project of making a trip of over ten thousand miles, 
for the sole purpose of ascertaining the existence, or non-ex- 
istence of fowls of a certain type of domestic poultry, is an 
entirely new departure in the annals of poultry culture. As 
such it seems worthy of a few words of introduction ; a sort 
of reply to the ''how came you so" of poultry breeders gen- 
erally. 

The first impetus in the general plan which finally was 
fulfilled in the voyage to Italy, came from the great poultry 
show which was for a few days a feature of the Paris Exposi- 
tion of 1878. At that time Mr. F. H. Corbin, of Newington, 
was first becoming generally known through his " Improved " 
Plymouth Rock fowls ; and as we knew that he made poultry 
breeding a business, the idea that he might join us, in the im- 
portation of stock selected at this exhibition, very naturally 
occurred. With this in view we made a trip to Newington 
and had a conference with Mr. Corbin. The plan, however 



6 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

failed to meet his approval and so, as there was no time for 
the correspondence incident to interesting a number of fanciers 
the project dropped. 

For nearly a year other business claimed our attention, but 
with the summer of 1879 came a revival of the dormant idea, 
under a little different form. At this time our little pamphlet 
on " The Leghorn" had been followed by two books on "Brown 
Leghorns," by H. H. Stoddard and C. R. Harker, and the in- 
terest in this favorite variety had been still farther heightened. 
This seemed, then, the proper time for an effort for still greater 
improvement, and so the "Poultry World " was called into 
requisition to acquaint poultrymen with our design. This was 
in August, and in our first modest card we spoke of importing 
only Rose-Comb Leghorns. The inquiries for other varieties 
were, however, so numerous that when the September "World" 
came out we changed the announcement to the effect that 
orders for any known variety of Leghorn fowl would be taken 
and filled, as nearly as circumstances would allow. Responses 
to this last card were very prompt in making their appearance, 
and so ere the month was out we were on the Atlantic, bound 
east five thousand miles in quest of the Leghorn. 

What People Thought About Tt. 

It is interesting to note the opinions of the best informed 
breeders and we here give a sample from the American Poultry 
Yard of what was said at the time of our going. Mr. Stod- 
dard, is we believe, more thoroughly posted on poultry matters 



I QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 7 

generally, than almost any other man in America, and this ed- 
_ torial notice represents the opinions of the most advanced 
fanciers, prior to the trip. The article reads as follows: 

f^ Novel Entep^^prjse. 

" The value of importation lies, to a great extent, in a fea- 
ture which has but little consideration with the majority of 
breeders — the introduction of new blood in no degree related 
to that which has been longest bred in this country. Were 
there no gain in any other way, could we procure no better 
stock than we already have, on this ground alone the extra cost 
of importation would be well repaid. 

In view of this state of the case, it is strange that no one 
has before taken the necessary steps to import fowls in quantity 
from foreign sources. It seems to have been left for Mr. F. 
H. Ayres, of Mystic River, Conn., whose advertisement ap- 
pears in the August Poultry World, to put the machinery in 
motion for doing this work thoroughly and in a business like 
way. Before giving notice of his plans, Mr. Ayres spent a con- 
siderable time in ascertaining from shipmasters and others who 
have visited the Mediterranean and Italian ports, the cost of 
the fowls in their native countries, the rates of freight and 
passage, and all other particulars of the task he had set before 
himself. 

This done, he was enabled to announce his intention of 
bringing from Italy a large stock of Leghorn fowls of all 
varieties, rose and single-combed. 



8 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

Mr. Ayres's plan — which now is assured — is to sail for Italy 
about the loth of September, and after buying the stock which 
is subscribed for, return at the earliest possible monient. Mr. 
Ayres will accompany the fowls and give them his personal 
care throughout the trip, till they are placed in the hands of the 
express company. 

The fact that Mr. Ayres, unlike Captain Corcoran, is a good 
sailor and never sea-sick, insures that care and attention for 
lack of which so many birds suffer on sea voyages. 

Such a chance to import slock of this variety will probably 
not occur again in years; for though a non-fancier could be 
commissoned to buy fowls, only a well-posted breeder can pur- 
chase them to advantage. 

On his return Mr. Ayres will publish a book under the 
title of ' The Quest of the Leghorn,' and detail all he saw to 
interest poultrymen ; and we may count on a very readable 
and instructive work. 

All who wish to obtain Rose-Comb, White or Brown Leg- 
horns, or add fresh blood to their present stock, will do well to 
communicate with Mr. Ayres at Mystic River, Conn. 

We have given only the bare outlines of this project, and 
all interested should write for further important particulars." 

Making Preparations. 

Such was in brief, the history of this novel quest up to the 
point of setting sail, but before the events we have so hastily 
sketched could transpire a number of minor details needed 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 9 

attention. Before even the first announcement of the plan 
could be made public, a comparison of the various ways of 
getting to and from Italy, a reasonably close estimate of the 
cost of fowls and their freight with due allowance for inci- 
dental expenses must be told off. While searching for infor- 
mation on these points we naturally kept a bright lookout for 
any poultry stories from shipmasters who had been in the 
Western ocean trade, and picked up a few items which we jot- 
ted down in our note book as follows: 

Notes By The Way. 

' Our ex[jerience in getting new and noteworthy facts on 
poultry matters generally began even before we left New York 
for Europe. The vessel on which we had taken passage for 
Marseilles was detained several days by bad weather and 
meantime we one evening met Captain Curry of the bark 
Lizzie Curry, which had two days before come into port. Nat- 
urally the conversation turned on the novel purpose of our trip 
and after some discussion the Captain spoke of the Mediter- 
ranean trade in fowls and eggs. "'You probably have no idea," 
said he, "of the trade there is in these ports. Why at Vigo, 
on the west coast of Spain, the steamers stop once or twice a 
week for shipments of fowls and eggs. These days are known 
as ' steamer days,' and the peasants come from far and near to 
send their stock. You may be sure that the trade that calls 
for the stoppage of two ocean steamers weekly is no trifle." 

2 



lO QUEST OF 'JHE LEGHORN. 

The Captain went on to describe some magnificent lustrous 
black fowls that he had kept on board the vessel for months 
until finally they "caught cold, had swelled heads and died." 
Our readers will recognize the handsome Black Spanish, and 
the common enemy, roup. 

This Captain Curry is the son of the master of the vessel 
in which we sailed. The senior captain has been for eighteen 
years a Mediterranean trader, and from him we also extracted 
some bits of information on poultry topics. 

Some eight years since he bought at Trieste, in Austria, a 
cock in general shape " like the Shanghaes," and gave him to a 
brother captain living on Long Island, New York. For several 
years thereafter he saw the bird at the owner's place, and from 
year to year noted how the tone of the whole flock was being 
raised by this influence. In this case no special clean breeding 
was attempted but the potent power of utterly fresh blood left 
to do its will, with results that show fully the value of such an 
occasional change. 

Some fowls live to be old stagers in maritime experience, 
as is seen by the fact that a hen bought for the table, but 
afterwards kept as a pet, lived a year and a half among all the 
vicissitudes of weather and the changes of climate from New 
York to the ports of Southern France, again and again. This 
bird knew as well as any sailor when a barrel of spray was 
coming on board, and would scuttle for shelter just in the nick 
of time. She had no regular nest but dropped her eggs at any* 
convenient point where they could not roll away. 



QUEST OV THE LEGHORN. II 

Ff\om New Yor^k to M. ar^seilles. 

After some delay in New York we at last cast off our moor- 
ings and under steam passed down the East river and the 
harbor and by noon we found ourselves outside the harbor 
with a light south-westerly wind. This continued for four 
days, and then the breeze strengthened materially and we ran 
to the Azores, or Western Islands, about twenty-five hundred 
miles in fourteen days. Here we lay well-nigh becalmed for a 
week and did not finally reach the straits of Gibraltar till the 
thirtieth day out. From this point land was in sight all 
the way as we coasted along about fifteen miles from the Span- 
ish coast till Spain touched France. Here under Cape Sebastian, 
with the monastery in which Queen Isabella took refuge in 
full sight, we lay for eleven days in a gale of wind. But all 
things come to an end, and so the evening of November 24th 
saw us at anchor in the harbor at Marseilles after an unusually 
long passage, due chiefly to heavy weather. 

The Maf^seilles Zoo. 

On landing in Marseilles we first sought a hotel where Eng- 
lish was understood and were fortunate enough to stumble 
directly upon the American consul, Mr. Gould, to whom we 
had letters from a mutual friend. Through his unwearied 
kindness we were enable to see much of the old city, which 
would escape the eye of a stranger, and in various ways pass 
pleasantly the three days which intervened between our arrival 



12 QTEST OK J'HK LE(;H<)RX. 

and the sailing of the steamer for Leghorn. We do not pur- 
pose to inflict on our readers any recapitulation of the stand- 
ard recitals of the guide books and letter writing travelers, 
but limit our recital to the fowls seen at the Zoological Garden. 

The garden lies back of the city on the crown of a high 
hill, and is accessible from two sides. ■ At the main entrance 
we face the artificial falls supplied by jets from the mouths of 
gigantic bulls, carved in stone, which lie with .raised heads in 
front of the stone building through which access is had to the 
main grounds. Passing through into the main garden which 
occupies the crest of the hill we found a number of smooth 
walks and rustic seats, and" in the open spaces flower beds and 
shrubs ; in fact very much such a garden, to our non-horticul- 
tural eye, as may be seen in any of our American cities. In 
good weather this place was undoubtedly, as with us, a resting 
place for the aged and invalids and a lounge for children and 
their nurses. But when we saw it a raw wind was blowing 
and the benches were tenanted only by a few old men of a 
semi-official appearance. The wind did not linger about the 
place but hurried by to the southward in cpiest of a better cli- 
mate, so we followed suit and turned to the right into the 
space appropriated for live stock. 

The cages were covered with Avire netting, and were about 
ten feet square. At the back were little red houses. In the 
first pen were White pea fowl, some of them very fine, and 
among them a cock, with red ears and greenish black legs, that 
bore quite a strong resemblance to a Brown Leghorn. A small 
B. B. R. Game hen was running about. 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 1 3 

In the second pen were a number of White Pheasants of 
the size common here, and an immense cock bird, of the same 
variety, that stood head and shoulders above the rest and 
would weigh as mucli as any two of them. Running with the 
pheasants was what looked Hke a rumpless White Leghorn ; a 
fowl with perfect Plymouth Rock shape and plumage but also 
rumpless, and a big black rumpless cock with feathered legs, a 
crest nearly four inches high and a thick beard. Over this 
coop hung the label "Chine." 

In the third cage was a bird of the shape and carriage of a 
Hamburg. His comb was rose, his hackle a light yellow ; the 
rest of his plumage a light yellowish brown with a bar of 
darker color on the wings. This fellow had blue legs and half 
white ear-lobes. The fourth section contained Japanese Ban- 
tams, and to the front was attached the label, ^' Coq et poules 
blanc, Nangasaki, Japan." These birds were much too heavy 
for any fancier's idea, and had both red or scarlet and yellow 
legs, four point combs and black tails. 

In the next coop was a huge //;//' fellow like an exaggerated 
heron. Affixed to the wire of the cage was the legend "Ibis 
rouges. Para." In color this bird was what we have described 
him pink, not red or any other color, but pink. 

Under the title of " Coc^ et poules de Eentam, Argentes, 
Java," were some fowls in plumage very much like the S. S. 
Hamburgs. They were about half the size of the Hamburg's 
and had red ear-lobes. The cock's breast was white and those 
of the hens yellowish. In the next was a more interesting 
display. "Faisans de Mongolie" said the placard. These 



14 QUEST OF THE LECxHORN. 

birds were unlike any pheasant we have seen ; they were 
something like a Ring Neck Golden Pheasant, had long white 
stripes over the eye like lengthened human eyebrows. The 
top of the head was dove color and the breast a deep cinna- 
mon or cherry brown, wings cinnamon. Taken altogether 
they were the handsomest pheasants we had ever seen. 

The Australian stock came next and consisted of a pen of 
Sultans. The cock showed a red face and enormous white ear- 
lobes while the hens sported black faces and small white ear- 
lobes. Rose combs were seen on both sexes. The Golden 
Polish, Silver Polish and Mottled Polish came next but were 
not specially noticeable. In the same pen with a fine collection 
of California quails was a thing unlike any other creation of 
the fowl sort we have noticed. In general construction it is a 
(TOW but somehow a few bright green feathers show them- 
selves on each side. It looks much as if a painter had used a 
trifle of window-blind paint to bedevil the bird, or perchance 
a dyer had tried a new dye on him. How such a queer sight 
was brought about our very faulty P>ench prevented our 
ascertaining. 

The next coop held some White Holland Turkeys fully 
up to the Standard requirements of the American breeder. 
Passing downward* through the grounds we came upon a 
"Grue Couronneblette" with a crown of spike-like feathers 
standing stiffly up from the head, and having intense cardinal 
colored tail and wing-bars. His height was about three feet, 
sides white, neck ash color, and his face or ear-lobes white on 
the upper half and red below. 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. I5 

Passing on, our notes sijeak of Buff Cochins of the Eng- 
lish types, good but small, and Muscovy Ducks, with other 
specimens of no special note. 

At the pond were ducks and swans in great profusix)n. 
Among them were the splendidly colored Wood Ducks of our 
own States and the rare Mandarins, with both of which recent 
chromos issued by the Poultry World have made our readers 
familiar. But the sprightliest of all was a variety, about half 
the size of a Rouen, having a magnificent brown '' Bismarck " 
head, with white tail coverts, and a general cinnamon color 
throughout. Sleeping on the shore were other ducks of the 
same general style as the one just described but with whitish 
yellow heads, and of greater size. In the same inclosure, was 
a White Crane with jet black legs, and a sort ot Guinea fowl 
we had never previously seen ; the neck a bright blue with a 
brown ruff all round, a clean white stripe on each feather and 
an azure blue breast. It was described as a " Pintado Vultur- 
ine," and credited to Zanzibar. 

Of the French class of domestic fowls there was a good 
showing, one old cock — a Creve Coeur — weighing, as near as 
we could guess, nine pounds. There was also a showing of 
Brahmas of the English type, but nothing worth notice. 

We wound up our saunter tltrough the grounds by an in- 
spection of the ostrich and emu in adjoining pens. This latter 
fellow stands about three feet high and has a dirty brown 
plumage parted down tlie back like the back hair of a Bowery 
swell. He is rumpless, and has a short and very heavy tri- 
ano-ular black bill. 



1 6 QUES'I' OF THE LEGHORN. 

The Marseilles Zoo is well filled and with a good variety 
of stock and yet as we turned from the gate to wend our way 
to the hotel we felt like the boy, there was "lots of news but 
nothing to holler." 



P 



ENOA. 



On the night succeeding our trip to the Zoological Gar- 
dens we embarked for Leghorn on the steamer Enna and the 
next noon entered the harbor of Genoa. On all sides Genoa 
rises from its semicircular harbor; to say that it lies at the base 
of a mountain would be incorrect, for it is on the mountain 
and rises steeply everywhere. Its streets are the perpendicular 
ways of a nightmare, and run upward till they in many instan- 
ces "can no more" and halt at the base of a perpendicular 
rock wall. At various points the grade is so sharp that stair- 
ways replace the sidewalks ; at others the roofs of houses on 
opposite sides of the w^ fairly shut out the light and lack but 
one or two feet of touching. 

Our stay here was too brief to admit of anything but the 
most cursory look for fowls, but we inspected (}uite a number 
that were offered for sale in wicker baskets slung to the should- 
ers of strapping peasants. As these birds were mostly capons 
and had the peculiar plumage of their kind, little could be 
judged from them of the character of the stock we should 
ultimately find. The next day we again weighed anchor and 
the following morning were lying in the outer mole at Leghorn. 
Here we took leave of the courteous Captain Guisippe Graf, 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 1 7 

whose knowledge of English had made our trip very pleasant^ 
and went through a drizzling rain to the custom house. 



V 



EGHORN 



Our first impression of this city which we had so long 
desired to reach, was hardly pleasant, but ere the three weeks 
spent there had passed away, we had learned to tolerate it ; 
not much more however, for it is in winter one of the most 
comfortless of cities. Imagine a place of nearly one hundred 
thousand inhabitants, without stoves or any effectual means of 
heating. And this too when the thermometer is often read at 
twenty degrees above zero. The houses are of stone with 
brick or stone floors and in the majority of cases carpetless. 
Some pampered people indulge in a strip of car])et three feet 
long and a foot wide at the bed-side, but this is seemingly con- 
sidered a token of a weak yielding to foreign ideas and is not 
encouraged. To people of American ideas Leghorn is a good 
place — to leave. 

But our mission was not to growl at the utter absence of 
sunny skies and balmy winds, but to get our live stock and re- 
treat as soon as possible. Our first acquaintance was with the 
house of F. Cibo & Co., who handle all the American vessels 
that come to Leghorn and are proficient in the English tongue 
that sounds so grateful to the traveler of little French and no 
Italian worth mentioning. From these gentlemen we received 
the most material aid, for not only did they furnish us one of 
their men as inter])reter but on numerous occasions the senior 



l8 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

owner gave us his time and care in our business transactions. 
With his assistance we were enabled to describe what we sought 
to the dealers and obtained better terms than would rccadily 
have been accorded. 

For the benefit of the uninitiated we remark here that the 
work of such a house as we have described is comprehensive. 
When a vessel comes into the harbor one of 'the firm boards 
her and pilots her to her moorings. Their boats lie alongside 
at all hours and will execute any commissions. The i)rovisions 
of all sorts are ordered through them and no matter what the 
demand they always find means to fill it, whether a roast is 
wanted for the galley or a shawl for the captain's wife ; or a 
trip to Pisa is planned. When we reflect that all the time when 
our trips to the market occupied half a day, these other avoca- 
tions must be steadily carried out, it is possible to comprehend 
the extent of the unrewarded politeness extended us on the 
strength of our nationality and a simple letter of introduction. 

These matters we have detailed as a part and parcel of the 
incidents of our trip and also because they throw, light on the 
conditions under which we worked. 



The Maf^ket. 



Around Leghorn are built massive stone walls, through 
which are numerous gates. At each gate is a force of soldiers 
of the customs department, whose duty it is to see that noth- 
ing subject to the consumption tax levied on all food that 
enters the city, is brought in free. On account of this duty, 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 1 9 

which applies as much to live fowls as a flask of wine, the 
market w^here fowls are collected stands outside the gates. 
When poultry is shipped from the harbor it must pass in at one 
gate and out at the opposite one on the harbor side, but by 
the payment of a small fee a guard can be procured to see the 
birds outside the city limits, when no tax is levied. 

The market is a brick building. In the front are hampers 
made of round sticks and about four and a half feet long by 
three wide and one deep. In a hamper of this sort as many 
as seventy-five or a hundred fowls are sent a three days' jour- 
ney. The hampers are piled one above another, and the men 
in charge make nothing of sliding a fresh one on the top of 
one bristling with heads stretched up through the slats. The 
hamper goes on with a crash, and the novice looks for broken- 
necked hens, Init he never finds one. 

How ^HE A/Iar^KET \yOf\KS. 

The proprietor of this market explained to us that he had 
hand-carts out in all directions for the purpose of collecting 
fowls. Many of these carts do not go more than fifty miles from 
home, but occasionally they extend their trips as far as the 
Adriatic on the opposite side of Italy and southward as far as 
Rome, one hundred miles away. Fowls thus collected are 
brought to the market, or magazine, and there held to wait the 
day when the steamer carries them to Marseilles. Steamer 
days are Tuesdays and Saturdays. On these days a train of 
drays piled high with crates of poultry are sent under guard 



20 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

through the town. One dray carries about fifteen crates and 
the line generally comprises from five to six or seven drays. 

It will readily be seen from this that the market if visited 
early in the morning of steamer days gives a pretty full dis- 
play of all varieties of poultry to be found in a radius of fifty 
miles from the city. It was our practice to go out on these 
days and look over all the stock. Whatever we selected was 
placed one side and reserved for us. In this way we reserved 
for closer inspection many samples that finally were rejected 
and let go with the rest to market. 

It is a proof of the strong hold of the shape which we 
call peculiar to the Leghorn breed, that in the thousands of 
fowls we examined very few differed materially from this style. 
Occasionally a bird may be seen that is a little more Dorking 
shaped than the others but it is usually found on examination 
to be an old hen. 



Fae\^m Poulte^y 



There is probable no country in which farmers make such a 
business of raising poultry as in Italy. Back of Leghorn the 
land is very flat for nearly twenty miles. Through this country 
run numerous canals fed by the river Arno which connects 
Florence and Leghorn. The land though nearly as flat as an 
American salt-hay meadow is about seven feet above the water. 
From Leghorn a broad, well macadamized road runs north- 
east to the old town of Pisa. On each side of this road 
throughout its entire length are vineyards, whose vines in sum 



I 






gUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 21 

mer cover the ground between the lines of supports at their 
roots. At about even distances from each other are square 
massive houses, and about the doorways of each house are 
from fifty to two hundred fowls. Few people who have not 
kept poultry in quite large numbers can imagine the appearance 
of a line of houses each so compassed about. 

It was our practice to go with an interpreter outside the 
walls and carefully look over all the fowls we saw upon our 
route. A sample excursion was one along this Pisa road, made 
a few days before our departure. Starting with a cab and 
Harry, who has piloted many an American on cruises of great- 
er or less length into the country, we began just outside the 
, gate. Quite a promising flock of fowls were scattered about 
and we were soon in their midst, and the center of a staring 
crowd of peasants. On our puri)ose being explained there 
was first a decided refusal to part with any of their pets. Next 
came a decisiqn to let some go at a price corresponding to the 
supposed wealth and infatuation of a man who came in a cab 
to buy poultry. Finally after much talk and interpreting we left 
and walked across the way to see the stock of the next man. 

Here nearly' the same palaver had to be gone through and 
as we at last were getting into the cab, the first party shouted 
out that we might have the birds that we had been looking at. 
This is merely a sample of the routine that must be gone 
through if one would select the birds he waiits from the parties 
who bred them. With the proprietor of the market, however, 
no such "dickering" is of use, for the price originally given 
was the only one we ever could obtain. 



2 2 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

-Pr^ice of Fowls. 

The market price of fowls varies at special seasons of the 
year for a short time, but in the main is very uniform. So 
much is this the case that the price quoted to us by parties 
who had been in Leghorn five years before were the figures 
when we arrived and during the time of our stay. In capons 
indeed there is more variation, and at certain celebrations when 
it is the rule that everyone should eat capon, the prices run to a 
high figure. At times extra large capons have been sold, we 
were informed, for as much as four or five dollars and not in- 
freijuently eight or ten francs is charged. When we learn that 
the steady wholesale market rate for common fowls is from twc 
and a half francs for young, to three francs for old birds the 
value i)laced on extra nicety is seen. 

This idea of charging less for a young and tender pullet 
than for an old hen is one that might suit a typical boarding 
house keeper, but seem a little (jueer to the general reader. 



Food For^ Fowls 



The universal food for farm poultry seems to be corn. 
This corn is utterly unlike the large kerneled red corn which is 
raised on our western farms, and more resembles the white 
variety of pop-corn common in New England. This was of 
course the principal food of the stock we brought across, though 
we supplemented the diet with potato skins, and half a barr 
of white meal that had become damat^ed. It was rather ludi 



1 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 23 

crous to see the surprise of the birds, when on reaching Balti- 
more, a supply of the large, red Western corn was thrown to 
them. It did not take them long, however, to decide that red 
corn was just as good as any other. 

The refuse from the house, which we save and give our 
feathered stock, is in Italy left anywhere it is handiest and 
the fowls, which have the range of the house as well as the 
grounds, help themselves. In summer the fowls probably do 
good in destroying the various insects which attack the vines, 
but as our visit occurred during the winter we saw nothing of 
this. 



An Old Storey 



Since returning from Italy we have been constantly on the 
qui vive for any information that might lead to the explanation 
of the fact that Rose Comb Leghorns were among the first im- 
ported to Mystic River, Conn. At the time of our trip it 
seemed that we had definitely ascertained that such was the 
case. But the "bottom facts " were still a step off. This we 

! learned but a short time ago through Mr. George Burrows who 
was the possessor of the first lot of Leghorns. His story is 

1 substantially as follows : 

'' I remember well the first lot of Leghorns that were 

1 brought to Mystic ; there were three of them, a cock and two 

r hens, but on the passage the cock died. Mr, Albert Stark 
and I were at that time in the ' hen business ' and we took the 
fowls off the vessel lying right down here at St. Jago wharf. 



24 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

(St. Jago is a tract lying near the river and the wharf was at 
one time crowded with the shi}3ping that made Mystic famous.) 
As we had no cock to put with the hens we did not know what 
to do, but, finally, hearing of a Mr. Baker in New Jersey who 
had Leghorn fowls — or as they were then called Andalusians — 
we sent for a cock. When he came we found he had a fine 
Rose Comb. This feature has cropped out in the original 
Mystic stock to this day." At this point we tried to ascertain 
why the old Leghorns were called Andalusians when Andalusia 
is a part of Spain and a long way from Italy but could elicit 
nothing but that the fowls since called Leghorns were at first 
called Andalusians. 



Rose Combs 



From this it will be seen that provided the cock sold by 
this New Jersey Mr. Barber was from Leghorn — as there is no 
reason to disbelieve he was — the purity of Rose Comb Leg- 
horn is as fully established as that of the single comb variety ; 
and breeders of Rose Comb stock are as justly entitled to the 
admission of their fowls into the list of Standard birds as any 
others. This is of course provided the markings are such as 
would be accepted as those of a Standard Single Comb Brown 
Leghorn and the only difference is in the comb. Until a like 
plumage and equally certain reproduction can be attained we 
cannot, of course claim as high honors for them as for the 
single comb stock. 

That we may rationally ask for a change in the Standard^ 



QUEST OF THF l.EGHORN. 25 

to include the Rose Combs there is little doubt, though we 
must acknowledge that in our own breeding and in the experi- 
ence of others they do not breed/quite as true as the single 
combs. Years of neglect and the killing of Rose Comb birds 
as culls have naturally put back their development in fine 
markings or rather stopped them on the progressive scale on 
which they were being raised. But the genuine material is still 
there and can in a short time, now the attention of poultry 
breeders generally has been called to the question, be worked 
into uniform appearance. 

On the matter of the occasional cropping out of Rose 
Combs we had proof in a bird we own ourselves which is full 
brother to a single comb Leghorn cock, yet has a heavy Rose 
Comb and throws about sixty per cent, of Rose Comb chicks. 

American Rose Combs. 

That the Rose Comb Leghorn is essentially an American 
bird there can, from our observation abroad, be little question. 
As many fanciers are aware, the first impetus of the importa- 
tion scheme arose from the desire of the writer to obtain im- 
ported stock of this variety. Hence when the field of action 
was at length reached the first inquiries were for Rose Comb 
birds. These inquiries met with no success. The friend to 
whom we applied had never heard of any such thing as a 
double or Rose Comb fowl but the dealers might know of such 
birds. 1 he dealers were in turn questioned and the result was 
the same ; they had never seen them. Here was a nice situa- 
3 



26 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

tion for one who had traveled so many thousand miles with the 
vision of splendid Rose Comb Brown and White Leghorns 
constantly before his eyes. Still we could not give up the idea 
that somewhere in our search for stock we should stumble on 
a Rose Comb of some sort, Our ideas had collapsed consid- 
erably and we no longer expected splendid plumage, and 
would have gladly accepted a fowl that could be bred to 
feather by a couple of years of care. Rose Comb stock cer- 
tainly had existed in Italy (and presumably in Leghorn or 
near it) thirty years ago and why not now. So we watched the 
market and took walks and rides outside of the city, stopping 
at every house where fowls were kept and inspecting stock, but 
always with the same results — no Rose Combs. 

As may be imagined this dearth of the variety we person- 
ally were most interested in caused a great amount of specula- 
tion as to why the Rose-Comb had become extinct. 

It was after a residence of nearly two weeks in Leghorn that 
a glimmering of the truth first occurred to us. We were dining 
with an Italian friend and as a breast of capon was served we 
noted a sauce containing little dice of pullets' combs. The 
secret was solved. Single combs are the only ones that would 
permit of such usage, and as all poultry in Italy is apparently 
bred for the market, the demand for edible combs is met by the 
exclusive rearing of single-comb stock. 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 27 

Recent Leghorn Importations. 

• We have recently noticed the advertisements of many par- 
ties who claim the possession of Rose-comb stock recently 
imported from Italy. That such an importation is impossible 
we should be very sorry to say, for though we have devoted 
our best energies to the discovery of Rose-combs our result is 
but a negative one, logically speaking. About Leghorn we 
feel sure, but of the country on the French borders we have 
little knowledge, though we examined the pcultry of Genoa. 
It is possible, of course, that in the niountains of the border 
may be found Rose-comb birds of some sort. As all know, the 
characteristic of all French breeds is a heavy, a very heavy 
comb, and just as the inhabitants of any border ground par- 
take of the character of both nations, and speak a mixed 
language, unintelligible alike to the French from Paris, or the 
Italian from Leghorn or Rome, breeds may be mixed in form. 
This is, however, a supposition, whose truth may never be 
proved. From our own observation nothing seems more prob- 
able than that single-combs are universal throughout Italy. 



Red Leghof^ns 



From the time that the name Leghorn was first applied to 

the fowls brought to Mystic, the epithet Red was also used. 

As a description of the original stock, in the male birds, as well 

as of the males now to be found in Leghorn it is far more ap- 

1 plicable than the word Brown which the change in the fowl 



20 QUEST OF THE LEOHORX. 

has made necessary. In the adult males to be seen in the 
market at Leghorn, and in the flocks which can be seen atl 
every house on the Pisa road, red is the color. On backs, t§il- 
coverts and wings, it predominates, and is even found in the 
hackle to a greater extent than in any American strains. On 
the wing the steely blue bar which is so strongly marked in ourl 
best fowls is wanting either in part or wholly. 

In the hens something of an approximation to the regular i 
plumage of this variety is to be seen, but the back shows large: 
half circles of lighter color, like the plumage of a Partridge: 
Cochin hen. Were this all, the birds might readily enough be: 
bred into our strains with marked advantage on the score of 
fertility, but their legs are an insuperable bar to their use in 
any such way, for they vary from greenish black to lighter 
willow. It is not by any means an impossibility to get yellow- 
legged fowls but in getting yellow legs we lose in plumage. 
The existence of a willow leg on a fowl of this variety will be 
a matter of great surprise to almost any fancier who has 
watched the course of breeding Brown Leghorns for some 
time. A black or willow leg has long been thought proof posi- 
tive of impure blood ; a reversion to some Black Breasted Red 
Game ancestor, and older fanciers have again and again im- 
pressed inquirers with the ruling that willow legs meant mon- 
grel stock, inevitably. To a certain extent this is true ; rever- 
sion will seldom overleap to the original characteristics after so 
many years of care. Yet we feel a spice less of certainty in 
the absolute truth of the law we in common with others have ; 
laid down. As the old lady said "seeing is believing" and the<| 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 29 

willow leg on a "Red " Leghorn hen in Italy, has stared us in 
the face too often to be readily forgotten. 



White Legho i\n s 



We have spent much time in wondering how Wliite Leg- 
horns came first to be brought to the United States. Of their 
first arrival but little is known, or rather but little has been 
written. That they are the rarest of all fowls in Tuscany is 
the fact, at present. Even the Dominiques of which we suc- 
ceeded in finding but six, all told, are as plentiful as the whites ; 
and more so. In the market we never saw a pure white fowl 
of any sort. Whites with an occasional black flight feather 
were seen rarely, but a pure white never. On one occasion we 
certainly thought we had found a bonanza, at a house about 
two miles from Leghorn,^for there were two or three white 
fowls in the flock. We halted immediately and with our inter- 
preter instituted a search, but only to find that the cock — a 
splendid shaped fellow — had red ear-lobes and some leg 
feathering ; or rather stumps of feathers in his legs. In ad- 
dition to these "outs" we perceived on close examination that 
the feat hers of the saddle ended in small light yellow spangles. 
We passed on. 



Black Leghorns 



The black fowl is par excellence the favorite fowl in Italy. 
1 his can hardly be more of a surprise to our readers than it 



30 QUESr OF THE LEGHORN'. 

was to the writer. With the exception of one flock of Blacks, \ 
of quite recent importation, there were, as far as we knew, 
very few fowls of this variety in the hands of American poultry 
fanciers. Black Leghorns had been made — and very cleverly 
too — from the sports of Dominique Leghorns. It may not be 
generally known that Dominique Leghorns throw black sports 
from time to time, just as the Plymouth Rocks do, but not 
with any such frequency. These sports if bred together will 
in time produce a genuine breed of Black Leghorns, true Leg- 
horn in every particular. With these birds, however, we have 
little to do in considering the Black Leghorn as found in its 
native haunts. ■ 

It may give a better idea of the prevalence of black over 
all other colors combined, in the birds to be seen by the 
thousand just outside the gates of Leghorn, if we state that 
nine out of every ten are jet black without admixture of any 
other color. It may naturally be asked how if Blacks are so 
common the first importations were of Browns and Whites. 
Fo-r this we can assign two causes. First the Browns and 
Whites may have been brought, as rarities as well in Italy as in 
this country. Secondly that the character of the poultry of a 
country changes with the varying course of commerce and the 
consequent demand. 

We need but look at the immense disparity between the 
fowls of America, now common and those of a quarter century 
back to see this. At the time we speak of, though the 
Bramah-pootras and Leghorns were known to a few, their 
influence on the common stock was as yet ////. 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 3I 

Time, which has so interweaved the blood of Asiatic and 
'Leghorn with the ordinary barn-yard fowl that you may now 
cruise the whole day long and never see a single s])ecimen of 
the old-style bird, has been busy on one side of the world as 
well as on the other. Though the poultry of Tuscany has 
been subjected to no such systematic training for specific ends, 
it must, perforce of altered circumstances, have suffered some 
modification. Hence to-day, in the section whence came once 
Brown and White fowls, the Black reigns well nigh unrivaled. 

Ear^lier Impoi^tations of Blacks. 

We have visited Mr. Reed Watson at his fine fruit farm of 
forty acres, at East Windsor Hill, Conn., since our return, and 
spent a day very enjoyably. To him must be given the credit 
of being the first to introduce and breed Black Leghorns in 
this country. He has been a continuous importer and breeder 
since 1871. In 1876 he got, from Leghorn, by his brother-in- 
law. Captain Tapley, who isw^ell posted on poultry, a trio, cock 
and two hens; and in 1878 two cocks and four hens — the last 
giving the largest percent, of good chicks. 

We had known Mr. Watson for some years and had heard 
of his noted flock, but we were not prepared to see so fine a 
display. In anticipation of the change in the Standard to 
"Black or nearly so" he has bred to that ideal the past season. 

Mr. Stoddard speaks, in the Poultry World of May, 1879, 
as follows : 

'' Black Lesrhorns were introduced into this country in the 



32 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

fall of 1 87 1, by Mr. Reed'Watson, of East Windsor Hill, Conn. 
In 1876 he made another importation more satisfactory in 
result. In 1878 he got from Italy a cock near to perfection, 
from which he bred a fine flock — the best he ever had. We 
visited at his farm in the fall, and congratulated him on his 
success ; and were so much pleased with the high character of 
his stock that we obtained a drawing, and produced a chromo 
representing birds from his last importation. 

He deserves and should receive commendation for the per- 
severance and persistence he has manifested in bringing this 
breed to such perfection. Mr. Watson has sold large numbers 
of this breed, and has thousands of letters relating to them, in 
many of which are expressions of satisfaction and praise of 
his birds. In laying qualities, vigor, hardiness, ease of raising 
and beauty, they can hardly be excelled, and should be more 
extensively introduced in the yards of fanciers and others who 
keep poultry. They are highly valued by those who have bred 
them continuously." 

Leg Coloi\ in Black Leghoi^ns. 

The recent convention of the A. P. A. at Indianapolis 
caused the section relating to the color of the leg in Black 
Leghorns to read "black or nearly so." When we left this 
country the Standard XQ2.d. "black or yellowish black in front." 
This does not specify the color of any part of the shank except 
the front, but gives the impression that yellowish black is the 
color elsewhere. With the knowledge that a vigorous attempt 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 33 

to change the Standard to read "yellow" instead of '' yellowish 
black," would probably be made at Indianapolis, we sought 
with great care to get yellow legged birds. In this, however, 
we had little success, though in a few cases we obtained speci- 
mens with a flesh colored or light yellow leg. In the majority 
of cases the yellowish black or black prevailed. That this is 
the natural color there can be little doubt, but we feel sure 
that, sooner or later, the fancy which demands a clean yellow 
leg on many of our black fowls will bring about a change in 
the Black Leghorns. Still this is probably a thing of several 
years hence, for some one must first get a flock of yellow-legged 
birds of this variety. A small number of yellow-legged birds 
might, with care, be selected in Leghorn, and from them a 
large number of chicks reared, and a strain with this distin- 
guishing characteristic established. 

Mr. Watson to whose flock we have already referred, dis- 
sented strongly from the views we have expressed above, and 
stated that he had tried for years to create a strain of this sort 
but without success, as yellow-legged birds almost always 
threw the yellow leg with a touch of white in the plumage. 
However, we do not give up hopes that some time in the not 
distant future such a flock can be established. 

We are bound, however, in fairness to our readers to say» 
that the black fowls with clear yellow legs, in Leghorn, were 
almost all spoiled by a white spangle somewhere in their plum- 
age. 



34 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

ITTERS. 



J^ON^ 



i^The American fowls are non-sitters. If the original birds 
were the same and there are no other varieties in Italy how are 
chicks raised ? ^Turning back to the original stock of 1852, we 
learned from Mr. Burrows, whom we have already quoted, as 
follows, substantially : '' The first Leghorns I had were bad 
sitters. Some of them were always wanting to sit but they 
never would hatch. Always sat about two days and then gave 
it up. After a few years they gave it up altogether." 

This corresponds pretty accurately with the experience of 
Leghorn breeders, even of late years. Few can show a flock 
in which there is not a hen which will occasionally cluck and 
be broody for a day or two, though easily broken up. 

This account however hardly corresponds with that of some 
peasants who pointed out some light yellow hens as the 
mothers. These hens were a trifle larger than the rest of the 
flock but had the same general characteristics. Whether they 
are maintained as a separate flock for the purposes of incuba- 
tion we did not learn. It is possible, as was suggested by an 
eminent poultrym m with whom we have discussed the subject 
since oar return, that the sitting instinct though faint is sufli- 
cient lor all purposes while the fow!s have perfect liberty 
among the vineyards, but is lost in the caged life of this country. 

It is well known that the Hamburgs are as thoroughly non- 
sitters as any variety of domestic poultry, and yet, but a few 
months since an account was published, in the Poultry World, 
of one which stole a nest and hatched out a fine brood of 
chicks. 



I 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 35 

There is little question in our own mind that a flock of any 
variety of poultry if turned loose on a tract of wild land, 
would, instead cf never increasing and gradually dying out, 
speedily acquire the incubating instinct. Where man's inter- 
vention is removed and the selection for plumage is replaced 
by the natural selection of the fittest for reproduction a race 
of sitters and mothers will be speedily produced. A flock of 
Leghorns turned adrift as we have supposed would never, in 
our opinion, produce strong sitters ; but that they would die 
out for lack of an instinct which nature has given all wild fowl, 
in a greater or less degree, we doubt. 

This has, indeed, but little bearing on the birds of the fanc- 
ier which lack the conditions which would foster the sitting 
instinct. Yet is w^orth remembering when a pet hen shows, for 
a day or two, signs of broodiness. 



P 



A P O N S , 



Caponizing is fast coming into favor in this country, and is 
gradually but surely becoming a source of greatly increased 
revenue to those who rear poultry for market as a business. 
In France capons are quite common, and bring a high price ; 
but in Italy caponizing is wellnigh universal. It is a matter 
of great difficulty to obtain adult males, of any variety, that 
have not been subjected to this process. This is not to be 
wondered at when we learn that a cockerel is worth, in the 
market, only from a quarter to a third as much as a capon of 
tlie same age. How much this is brought about by the de- 



^6 QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 

mand of the French market, to which nine tenths of all the 
fowls raised within one hundred miles of Leghorn go, cannot 
be known. We fancy, however, that though the French may 
have set the fashion the Italians have been very ready to adopt 
it. It is, indeed, simply a question of producing the best 
article at the least cost. A capon of six or seven months old 
has consumed probably not a particle more food than the cock- 
erel of the same age, but will dress nearly double as much 
meat ; and of a finer flavor. 

In personal appearance the capon has been aptly character- 
ized, by some one as silly looking. He has been dubbed and 
a crop of silky feathers seems to lie loosely on his hackle ; his 
tail droops and the head is never raised much above the line 
of the body. Sidling about among the hens in a sort of grown- 
up chicken-hood, with a voice of tiuerulous old-mannishness, 
he bears little likeness to the lusty cockerel. There is'nt much 
activity about the capon, but then neither is there about the 
prize-pig as compared with the antelope-style porker we have 
seen in the Southern States. 

Leghoe^^ns as Table Fowls. 

Though Leghorn breeders in this country have often des- 
canted on the superior qualities of their favorites as table 
fowls, poultry breeders generally have rather scouted the idea 
of their excellence in this particular, and while granting them 
due honors as unrivaled layers, have held heavier fowls, such 
as Brahmas and Plymouth Rocks, in higher esteem for table 



QUKST OI THE l.EGHOKN. 37 

purposes. It it rather a striking commentary on this opinion 
that the French, whom we have always credited with a fine 
taste in such matters^ consume thousands of the Leghorns 
every week and pay a good price for the privilege. In what 
way the interior of France is supplied we know not, but can 
speak for Marseilles which receives from the port of Leghorn 
alone, two shipments each week. Counting the fowls sent at a 
very low estimate, it is safe to say that two thousand are sent 
weekly. Of these about one quarter are capons and the rest 
pullets from three to four months old. 

We have eaten our full share of three-year old hens, gigan- 
tic and — breathe it not aloud — tough Brahma cocks and other 
developments of farmers' poultry, and know pretty well their 
flavor, but no such specimens ever bid defiance to our teeth on 
Italian soil. At the little railroad station at Staghno, as well as 
at the Giappone, in Leghorn, there was alike nothing but tender 
and delicious poultry. In this, however there is a little secret 
which may not come amiss to our lady readers who are also 
housekeepers. As ice is well nigh unknown and fowls cannot 
be kept for any length of time, all dead poultry is slightly 
boiled before it is stored in the larder. It will then keep for 
days and be as tender and fresh as ever. This process we did 
not see, for we have no " Herald back-stairs reporter" instinct, 
but learned it from an English lady, for many years a resident 
of Leghorn. 

Maf^diness of JMPOf^TED Stock. 

There is a decided impression in this land of steady habits 



38 QUE^T OF THE LEGHORN, 

that Italy is "sunny Italy" the year round. This idea we 
shared in common with many others, though perhaps not to so 
great an extent, as we had made trial of a Florida winter and 
learned that the land of flowers and and balmy nights existed 
only in the mind of the enterprising special cot^respondent. 
The truth of the matter is that during our stay the thermome- 
ter registered as low a temperature as on the New England 
coast, there were two snows and water was frozen in the gut- 
ters. To fowls that are kept mostly at large, this climate is as 
severe a trial as our bitterest cold to an Americanized stock of 
the same variety, that are ordinarily well cared for. 

We are told that the past winter has been an exceptional 
one all through Europe and so we can hardly judge of the 
ordinary conditions that Leghorn stock is subjected to, but it is 
certain that the birds we inspected showed few traces of suffer- 
ing. We may safely assume that while there is a decided dif- 
ference in the climate of Italy and the United States, fowls 
bred there and imported will suffer no more than the birds of 
former importations now acclimated here. 

Though our own experience is limited to the few weeks 
that our stock was recuperating before shipment to its various 
owners, it points strongly the hardiness of imported birds. Of 
the sixty-three birds which arrived at Mystic, not one showed 
signs of sickness during all the time we had charge of them. 
During this time there were two quite heavy snow storms fol- 
lowed by melting weather and the conditions of roup were 
fully present. Not even the scrawny specimen nicknamed 
' Baldy Sours," seemed to feel at all troubled. 



QUEST OF THE LEGHORN. 39 

This last is a queer specimen, with an eye out and two toes 
missing, that apparently gave up the ghost about half way 
across the Atlantic. We found her lying flat on the bottom of 
the coop with a hen standing on her head. After some trouble 
we pulled her out and prepared to throw her overboard, had 
even given half the swing that would have thrown her, when 
she opened her solitary eye and winked. This is a ^'petrified 
fact," to quote the celebrated M. T. We tossed her down on 
the deck and in less than ten minutes she was fighting through 
the bars of the coop with some of the other stock. 



Pr^olificacy 



There can be little doubt that imported stock will lay more 
eggs in the same time than the descendants of former importa- 
tions now do. The testimony of all the breeders who received 
Leghorn stock direct from Italy a number of years ago is the 
same on this point. Not long since we spoke of this extraor- 
dinary prolificacy to a well-known breeder of this variety, and 
learned that he received some nondescript Leghorns only a 
few years since, and that most of them layed themselves to 
death, dying on the nest. Before coming to this unfortunate 
finis most of them had performed extraordinary feats in the 
egg-producing line. 

We are well convinced from our own study of the subject 
and what we have seen in our own yards, that if it is safe to 
expect one hundred and seventy-five eggs per annum from 
well-bred Standard hens, imported birds will for the" first two 



40 QUEST OF THE EEGHORN. 

or three years will lay from two hundred to two hundred and 
fifty. A hen is worth just what she will produce, and if im- 
ported fowls will give us the materials for a greater number of 
thorough-bred chicks, they are proportionately more valuable, 
to say nothing of the great influence that will run down from 
generation to generation for a series of years, from the influ- 
ence of their cockerels on other strains. 



P U R^ A D Y E F^T I S E E^S , 



As our readers will perceive, the last few pages contain the 
advertisements of those who took stock in the enterprise. 
They are "good men and true," every one of them, and have 
proved themselves by many acts ready to lay out money and 
time freely to gain the very best stock to be had. That the man 
who is ready, at any time, to pay a high figure to secure extra 
birds is the man to buy your good birds from, is our experi- 
ence. One of our advertisers told us but a few days ago that 
he was always ready to pay a high figure, which he named, for 
a Brown Leghorn cockerel that would honestly score ninety- 
six points. He has had many birds sent on approval and he 
has seldom retained one, simply because he could not honestly 
score the specitnen up to the reqmred point. This is a partic- 
ular man in buying but he is just as careful of what he sends 
out to his customers. 

This is but a sample of the men whose addresses may be 
found farther on and we feel confident that those who deal 
with any of them will be pleased at the honest and gentlemanly 
treatment they receive. 



STOCKHOLDERS. 



Those marked * will not breed the imported Black Leghorns, 



A. B. CoGGRSHALL, Newport, R. I. 

Theo. Kenney, Scottdale, Pa. * 

Morgan Pierson, Clinton, Conn. 

Geo. H. Fancher, Winsted, Conn. 

Chas. S. Hastings, St. Johnsbury, Vt. (2 shares.) 

A. B. Campbell, Norwich, Conn. * 

J. E. Clayton, Saginaw City, Mich. 

Geo. H. Towle, Truxton, N. Y. (Dominiques.) 

W. B. Evans, Ripley, Ohio. 

W. N. Croffut, Binghamton, N. Y. 

Wm. E. Hart, East Cleveland, Ohio. 

C. R. Harker. Rochester, N. H. * 
W. R. Wilson, Whippany, N. J. 

E, B. Towle, Newburyport, Mass. * 

S. J. Fearing, 91 Commercial Street, Boston, Mass. 

P. H. Marlay, Lincoln, Nebraska. * 

T. P. Snyder, North Adams, Mass. * 

Wm. Bower, New Britain, Conn. 

J. M. Clark, Box 447, Amherst, Mass. 

D. Andrews, San Jose, Cal. 

Geo. M. Snow, Box 1076, Salt Lake City, Utah. * 
H. L. FiSK, Box S59, ^Vorcester, Mass. (i^ shares.) 



^^ In sending letters of inquiry to any of these gentlemen please 
enclose a stamp. Remember the cost of paper, particularly when Uncle 
Sam has put his mark on it. 



Motio: L'lkc 77. 31. 

Golden Rule Poultry Yards, 

CHARLES S. HASTINGS, 

Proprietor, 

ST, jroKLisrsBXJi^'^, - - vt. 

.— • 4^-»-..— . 

VARIETIES : 

IMPORTED BLACK LEGHORISrS, 

SILVER GRAY & COLORED DORKINGS, 

LIGHT I3RAHMAS, 

BROWN LEGHORNS, "BLACK DIAMONDS," 

AND 

"GOLDEN-WINGED BELLFOURS." 



EGGS AND FOWLS IN SEASON 



I make it a Point to live up to my Motto. 
Descriptive Circular and Price-list sent to any Address. 

[see next cage.] 



Mot:o: L'lke it. 31. 



My Yards of Rare and High-Class PouUrij for 1880, are 
Mated as follows : 

Imported. Black l^eg-lioriis. 

Cockerel from Reed Watson, from his importation of 1878, mated with 6 Hens import- 
ed personally by Mr. F. H. Ayres, direct from Italy in 1880. I believe this yard is not 
excelled in America. EGGS, $2.50 per 13, or $4.00 for 26. CHICKS in the fall, at $15.00 
per trio 

Silver Oray I>or!k:iiigs. 

Cockerel from my stock, selected from some thirty raised last season, and scored by H. 
S. Ball at 92 points ; is a large and very fine plumaged bird, mated with four hens from 
Warren. Conn., four nice pullets from Bowen, Mass., and two pullets raised by myself and 
scored by Mr. Rail at 92 and 93 points. EGGS, $2.00 per 13. or $3.50 for 26. 

Colored r>orl«:iiij*s. 

Cockerel from Bowen's stock, mated with two pullets, Blakeslee stock, and eight nice 
pullets of my own raising. All large and evenly marked. EGGS, $2.00 per 13. $3 50 for 26. 

NOTE.— Mr. H. S. Ball, A. P. A. judge, gave me the oredit of having tho best Hock of Dorkings he had 
•een together at anr show this winter. 

I^lglit Braliiiiasi. 

Cock. Josselyn's strain, mated.with seven pullets, part Josselyn's and part Burnham's 
stock. All very fine birds, *~j 

Cockerel, Josselyn and Burnham. mated with three hens, Burnham, and three hens, 
Josselyn. " You pays your money and you takes your choice." EGGS, $2.00 for 13, or 
$3.50 for 26. 

I5ro-\vii I^eg'liorns, 

A friend has a very fine flock of the.se " egg machines," that I will sell eggs from at 
$1.50 per setting. Cockerel, Banks' stock, mated with hens and pullets, Harker's strain. 
Nicely marked and good points throughout. 

I$laclc I>laiiionds. 

Cockerel. 8>^ pounds, mated with two hens weighing 7X pounds each, and si.x nice 
pullets weighing from 6 to 7 pounds each. All nicely marked, and not related m the least 
to cockerel. EGGS. $3.00 per 13, or II5.00 for 26. 

ft Golden- \Vin{|:ed liellfoxirs. 

It _ NO EGGS FOR SALE. For a better description of these last two new breeds, estab- 
lished by careful selection and breeding, myself, as well as a general description of the 
Standard Varieties bred by me, see my new circular, sent to any address. 

GHAKLES S. HASTINGS, 

St. Jolinsbury, Vt. 



LEGHORN FOWLS 



AND 



SHEPHERD DOGS 



IMFOMEB STOCK 



H. L. FISK & SON, 

(P. 0. Box 859.) 

WORCESTER, - - MASS. 



W. N. CROFFUT, 



I pa- <3i-n ^a. 3VI T o 3Nr , 



2?a-. 



BREEDER OF STANDARD 



Brown and Black Leghorns. 



My strain of 

Brown Leslioriis 

are not surpassed in 
America for breed- 
ing fine combs, sol- 
id white ear-lobes, 
with elegant plu- 
mage and symmetry. 
My Breeding Stock 
this season is better 
than ever, and ma 
ted to produce the 
best p o s s i b 1 e re 
suits, and is com 
posed^ of 4 yards. 




My 

Black Leghorns 

are also ver)^ fine. I 
have some that Mr. 
F. H. Ayres"" im- 
ported for me.' They 
are beautiful in form 
and feather, and are 
admired by all who 
see them. I am 
now prepared : to 
book, orders 'for 
eggs from either of 
the above varieties 
at 



$2.00 per 13, or $3.00 per 26 

:ked to go any distance, and warranted to hatch a fair oer centaf 



packed to go any distance, and warranted to hatch a fair per centage. 

Fowls and Chicks For Sale at all seasons of the year, at Moderate 
Prices. Write for what you want. 

W. N. CROFFUT, 

BINGHAMTON, N. Y. 






3 

AND 



ROSE-COIB BEOWI LEGHOEIS. 



My Black Leghorns are imported fowls. My Single-Combed Brown' 
Leghorns are from Kinney's Brown Prince, 3rd, winner of the Cen- ; 
tennial prize. 

My Rose-Comb Brown Leghorns were obtained direct from the orig- 
inator (McDaniel). They combine all the good qualities of the single- 
comb varieties, but having double combs there is no danger of their 
combs freezing, which makes them one of the most desirable birds 
known. 

FOWLS FOR SALE AFTER SEFT, 20. 



E Gh Gh S , 

BLACK LEGHORN (per 12) $3 00 

SINOLE-COMBl D BROWN LEGHORN. ... " 1 00 
ROSE-COMBED BROWN LEGHORN " 8 00 

Eggs Packed and Delivered at Express Office in good condition, Free 
of Charge. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 



•9 
AMHERST, MASS. 



I 



MORGAN PIERSON, 

CLI:N-T0M, - COMK 



IMPOUTEH AND BREEDER OF PURE BRED FOWLS. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK S, 



WorhVs Excelsior St%ain. 



BLACK LEGHOEN^S. 

Disaster Strain, Imported by me in March 1880, and are The Fowl of Italy, 
and the Greatest Layers in America. 

BROWN LEGHORNS, 

Prince of Wales, and Glift's. These two strains cannot be beat. 

DARK BRAHMAS, 

Black Prince Strain. 

— HIOIUIDIANISI,^ ■ 

Grant and Pinrhnci/ Strains. 

COLORED MUSCOVY DUCKS. 



JSGGS ANU FOWLS IN SEASON. 



WRITE FOR WHAT YOU WANT. 



A. B CAMPBELL, 



BREEDER OF 



BROWN LEGIOMS 



EXCLUSIVELY. 




I have made a specialty of this breed for seven 3'ears and to day have 
as fine a breeding strain as can be found in this country. 



mm AE3 wmwm m mA^m. 



DESCRIPTIVE CIRCULAR AND PRICE-LIST FREE, 



SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 



I Iiave some GOOD STOCK 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS, 

BROWN LEGHORNS, 

LIGHT BRAHMAS, 
BUFF AND PARTRIDGE COCHINS, 



AND 



Imported Black Leghorns! 



All First- Class Stock. 



EGGS, $2.00 for 13 ; $3.50 for 26. 

W. R. WILSON, 

Whi^ypant/f Morris Co,, K. J', 



BREEDER OF 

IMPOETED BLACK LEaSOEIS. 



M(Os©=C'OMi!b Browe LeghormS; 



AND 



FiOse-'CoMiib White L'Bglioras. 



The flock of 



BOLTON QEAYB, 

of the late Wm. Iliggins. 



CHICKS from all these varieties will be ready in the early fall of i8So, 
and as I have fine breeding stock I can safely promise 

NICE CHICKS. 

Write me. 

GEO. E. FAIVCHER, 

WINSTED, - - CONN. 



1 8 8 O . 

^ifpOSAC mM[[ POULTR! YAROS,-!^^ 

browj^t leghorns, 
black hamburgs, 
black leghorns, 
bronze turkeys, 



DOMINIQUE LEGHORNS, 
PLYMOUTH ROCKS, 

AYLESBURY DUCKS. 



^l<3r<3r& TIV TISL^SHl. »JE3.A.1S0:N. 



T. P. SIYDEE, Proprietor, 

NORTH ADAMS. - - MASS. 



J. E. CLAYTON, 



HEADQUARTERS FOR THE NORTH-WEST 



BEOW:^ LEGHOElSr 

POULTR.Y IlAIMDS. 



I make a specialty of breeding this Beautiful, Profitable and ever 
Popular Breed. My Breeding Pens are made up of Standard Birds* 
scoring from 90 1-4 to 93 points. I feel safe in guaranteeing perfect sat 
isfaction to purchasers of eggs, which I ship in their season, securely 
and safely packed, at 

$2.00 FOR 13, $3,00 FOB 26. 

Orders solicited„booked and sent in turn. No Stock for sale now. 

CHICKS READY TO SHIl' BY SEPTEMBER 1,1880. 

Address 

J. E. CLAYTON, 

SAGINA W CITY, MICH, 



EGGS 



FROM 



WHITE LEGH0EN8 ! 

2.00 PER SITTINO. 



-H »«•-»«>- 



These fowls are J. Boardman Smith, and W. H. Todd strains and have 
been selected and mated with care, to produce the best results. 

All eggs sent out are safely packed and Warranted Fresh and Pure. 



CHICKS IN THE FALL. 



Write. Address 

P. H. MARLAY, 

Lincoln^ - - JYehraska, 



BEOWN rpTi lUAUXTTA l ^^^^^ 
LEGHORNS, j ^ALll^ UllJMA. ( leghorns. 



HAVE THE ONLY 



IIPOETED BLACK LE&HOEIfS 

in the State. I will, this season, sell a limited number of 

EGGS, AT $5 MO PER SITTIWG. 

CHICKENS FOR SALE IN THE FALL. ORDER IN TIME, 



at present, consists of One Pen of Finely-penciled Pullets, mated with a 
Deep-colored, Finely-marked Cock that is the admiration of all. Their 
eggs have proved to be fertile and chicks hardy. The pullets have 
proved themselves remarkable layers and I shall continue to improve 
them by breeding only from the best. I shall increase the number of 
pens next season. No two breeds allowed to run together at any sea- 
son. Parties ordering can rely upon stock that will prove ]rue to name. 

D. ANDREWS, 

Cor. llth and San Carlos Sts,, 

SAN JOSE, GAL. 



WHITE COCHINS, 

George ist, (5269) and Western Belle, (5270) with five other Fine 
Exhibition Hens. 



m EGGS $3.00 PER 13, $5,00 JPEU 26. 

Hector, (5271) and Maud, (5272) with five fine hens from the best stock 
in the United States. 



EGGS $3.00 PEB 13, $5.00 PER 26. 



I exhibited the leading stock of the above pens at the Cincinnati 
Poultry Exhibition, January, 1880, receiving 2d and highest, and special 
on Geo. ist, the other three taking three of the remaining regular prizes. 

OTHER VARIETIES. 

I can also furnish Eggs from Moudan (Butler's) and B. B. R. Game 
stock, at $2.00 per 13. Address 

W. B EVANS, 

RIPLKY, OHIO. 



IS^r^. li^R-T'S O^PtO. 



Since the poultry interests of America have become so extensive 
and important a business, Yankee enterprise has crossed oceans and 
brought to these shores nearly every known variety. Ft is now easy for 
each farmer or fancier to procure such varieties as are best suited to his 
wants, whether it be a large amount of meat, a generous supply of eggs, 
or the gratification of the eye. Nearly every variety has some specially 
good quality, while none can claim perfection in all. For twelve years 
I have bred high-class poultry, and during that time have had nearly 
every variety of Standard fowls, and have found none equal to Leghorns 
in the production of eggs. Of this breed, the Browns and Blacks are 
most desirable in most localities and with most breeders, because less 
liable to to show soiled plumage. Then too, I have found the Browns 
more hardy and prolific. Am now breeding from the best specimens of 
this color that can be procured. My success in growing a large per cent 
of well-marked stylish birds has been very gratifying. This is especially 
true as regards cockerels. That they are appreciated by fanciers is evi- 
denced by the large number sold to the best judges, for the improvement 
of their fllocks the coming season. 

I am breeding from two yards. One contains acock and ten hens, 
the other a cockerel and ten pullets. All very fine birds— real beuties, 
and so nearly alike as to make it difficult to distinguish one from the 
other. Grace in form and grace in every motion, a delight to the eye as 
well as a sure source of supply to the agg basket. Pleasure and -profit 
are the sure result of well-selected stock of this variety. 

Rose comb Brown Leghorns are not so well known. Some say they 
were originally imported from Italy. Others claim that they are "sports" 
from single comb birds. Others again, say they are a cross with Ham- 
burgs. I do not attempt any light on the subject of their origin but 
cannot fail to see that they do remedy the greatest defect that can be 
urged against the single comb birds, in having a low, rose-comb. Thus 
exemption from frost is greatly in their favor, and must make them de- 
servedly popular in Northern States. This is no doubt the reason of 
their being such remarkable winter layer. Six pullets of this variety 
have given me an average of four eggs per day all winter. They have 
real merit and must become prime favorites when better known. 

A few sittings of EGGS FROM THESE BIRDS, 



$3.00 I* ES JFL 1 3 - 

WM. E. HART. 

BA^ST ( LEVELAXD, OHIO. 



^-jJ CX/b 



